Easy 30-Minute Stove-Top Lasagna Recipe

Homemade Lasagna on the StoveTop!

I've made other, more traditional lasagna recipes (usually the one from the back of the pasta box!) and have always found the results to be just "okay", which is especially disappointing given the amount of work involved with those types of lasagna recipes. This, however, is quite probably the easiest and fastest lasagna recipe I have ever seen - plus, it's delicious! It's made in a skillet on the stove-top with just a few ingredients and there are no special skills involved, so even a novice cook should be able to pull this one off without a hitch on the first try!

Ingredients:

• 10 Lasagna Noodles (about 1/2 box), uncooked
• 1 Green Bell Pepper, diced
• 1 Medium Onion, diced
• 1 Clove Garlic, crushed
• Salt & Pepper
• 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
• 1 pound Ground Beef (Ground Turkey works well, too!)
• 1 28 ounce Can Chopped Tomatoes
• 1 8 ounce Can Tomato Sauce
• Finely Chopped Fresh Basil, or dried (to taste)
• 12 ounces Grated Mozzarella Cheese
• 8 ounces Ricotta Cheese

Equipment:

• 12-inch Non-Stick Skillet (must be non-stick or the lasagna noodles will stick to the pan)
• Cover for the Skillet
• Slotted Spoon

Recipe:

1. First, off you want to dice the Green Pepper and Onion.
2. Then, pour the can of Chopped Tomatoes into a large measuring cup and add enough water to bring the total contents to 4 cups; set aside.
3. Next, take the uncooked Lasagna Noodles and break each piece into thirds - don't worry about getting them all perfectly sized - the point here is to make them all fit into the pan, as well as to make it easier to serve the dish later! Important: you need to use regular-style boil-able noodles, not the "no-boil" type that are designed to work in the oven. There will be enough liquid in the recipe that the noodles will actually steam to a perfect al dente texture by the time you're all finished.
4. Heat the Olive Oil in the 12-inch Skillet over high heat for a minute or so, until the oil begins to shimmer. Add the Pepper and Onion, plus Salt and Pepper to taste. Once the Onions are lightly browned, add the crushed Garlic and saute another 30 seconds.
5. Add the Ground Beef (or Turkey) in small chunks and stir to incorporate it with the veggies. Cook the Meat for a few minutes more until mostly browned - there's no need to fully brown it at this point, as it will have plenty of time to cook as we move on.
6. Layer the broken, uncooked Lasagna Noodles evenly over the browned meat. I like to start by making a circle around the outside edge of the pan, then another concentric circle inside that one, and finally a few cross-hatched noodles to cover the center. The idea is to have an even, slightly over-lapping single layer of noodles that completely covers the meat.
7. Once the Noodles are in place, use a Slotted Spoon to spread the Chopped Tomatoes from the measuring cup evenly over the layered Noodles. Next, pour the liquid from the Tomatoes evenly over the top, and then pour the canned Tomato Sauce evenly over the whole thing, filling any gaps - you shouldn't see any Noodles in the pan that aren't covered with some variety of Tomato! Finally, sprinkle the chopped (or dried) Basil over the top.
8. Cover the pan and turn the heat down to medium. Let the Lasagna cook for 15 minutes, then remove the cover. Spoon the Ricotta Cheese in small clumps and evenly distribute them around the pan. Top the whole thing with the Grated Mozzarella and return the cover to the skillet. Cook an additional 5 minutes, then let sit, uncovered, for another 5-10 minutes to allow everything to meld together in the pan.

Conclusion

I like to serve the Lasagna straight from the pan - just cut it into wedges like you would a pie, then scoop each wedge out with a big spoon or spatula. It's a little messy, but it tastes great! FYI, the longer you let it sit after cooking, the less messy it tends to be...

Looking for more fast and easy cooking recipes?

Check out Edweirdo's Cookbook for great FREE recipes online!

_{Photo by http://www.flickr.com/photos/davidsilver/ / CC BY-SA 2.0}